A Comprehensive Library of Community-Engaged Research Resources
Welcome to the Community-Engaged Research Resource Library
This resource library is designed to help researchers understand and develop community-engaged research (CEnR) projects. CEnR is a collaborative approach that brings researchers and community members together to develop and implement research that is motivated by and responsive to the needs, interests, and values of a community. By actively engaging youth, families, communities, and researchers throughout the research process, CEnR leverages diverse knowledge and expertise to generate relevant, impactful, and mutually beneficial findings.
Defining “Community” and “Researcher”
A community is a social group whose members share one or more commonalities—such as race, gender, geographic experience, or life experience—that connect them through values, interests, goals, and/or kinship. A researcher is an individual trained to carry out research activities. For the purposes of this resource library, we will refer to community and researcher using these definitions.
Within CEnR, all individuals involved may be members of a community, researchers, or both. Their roles are often fluid, as community members contribute to research and researchers can be embedded within the community, emphasizing the collaborative and interconnected nature of CEnR.
How to Use This Resource Library
This resource library is a dynamic and evolving collection of products from CEnR projects conducted by Child Trends experts and our partners. It provides real-world examples of authentic community collaborations to guide researchers in designing and implementing effective CEnR projects. Because each CEnR project is tailored to the unique needs of its partners, communities, and contexts, we do not recommend direct replication. Instead, this resource library is designed to help researchers build their capacity to engage community partners more effectively in research.
If you are new to CEnR, we recommend starting with our Practical Guide to Getting Started with Community-Engaged Research. This resource covers:
- The foundational concepts of CEnR, including its history, benefits, and challenges
- A dynamic spectrum of engagement and decision making to help researchers navigate different types of community-researcher partnerships
- A framework outlining the guiding principles of effective CEnR
- An overview of the five stages of CEnR: Partner, Plan, Implement, Analyze, and Share
Navigating the five stages of CEnR
The resource library is organized around the five key stages of CEnR:
- Partner: Establish relationships, clarify shared goals, and build trust.
- Plan: Develop a roadmap that aligns with community needs and research goals.
- Implement: Conduct research in a way that prioritizes communities and adapts to challenges.
- Analyze: Interpret findings with the community to ensure they reflect community experiences.
- Share: Disseminate results in ways that are accessible and actionable for both researchers and community partners.
Each stage includes:
- Key considerations and reflection questions for researchers
- Insights from Child Trends projects and practical lessons learned
- Open-access resources, such as budget templates, Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications, facilitation guides, and interview protocols
Finding the right resources
Our resources are pooled in the Library tab. To help researchers more easily find relevant resources, users can search and filter by:
- Spectrum: Informed, Consulted, Involved, Collaborative, or Empowered
- Stage: Partner, Plan, Implement, Analyze, or Share
- Project: Centering Youth Experiences to Address Community Violence (Safety 7), Adapted Measure of Math Engagement (AM-ME), and Authentic Youth Engagement in Policy (YEP)
This structure allows researchers to access the tools and insights most relevant to their needs, whether they are just beginning a CEnR project or refining their approach.
Development of This Resource Library
This library was developed through a comprehensive review of existing resources on CEnR and informed by our collective expertise in implementing CEnR approaches. At Child Trends, we have conducted over 50 CEnR projects, applying these approaches across various research contexts. Examples of our work include:
- Centering Youth Experiences to Address Community Violence: A youth participatory action research project that elevates young people's perspectives on community safety and well-being. This is an example of an empowered community-engaged research project.
- Adapted Measure of Math Engagement: A mixed-methods research project that developed a measure of math engagement by collaborating directly with students and educators. This is an example of a collaborative community-engaged research project.
- Authentic Youth Engagement in Policy: A case study research project with five organizations to study how meaningful youth engagement impacts policy, organizations, youth development, and communities. This is an example of an involved community-engaged research project.
- The Foster Youth Initiative: An evaluation project with young people who have experienced foster care serving on an advisory board to interpret findings and recommend ways to support their well-being and success, in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, and nationwide. This is an example of a consulted community-engaged research project.
- The Probation Experience Project: A research project that collaborated with youth and families impacted by the juvenile justice system, centering their experiences to inform policy and practice changes that improve system outcomes. This is an example of a collaborative and involved community-engaged research project.
By combining insights from research and real-world practice, this library provides practical resources to help researchers integrate CEnR into their work, foster meaningful collaboration, and produce research that is both rigorous and responsive to community needs.
Notes: All authors contributed equally to developing and refining this resource library.
Acknowledgements: Joselyn Angeles-Figueroa, Marisa Crowder, Julie Gilbertsen, Diane Hsieh, Deja Logan, Jennifer Widstrand, and Mark Vincent Yu contributed to creating the products in this research library.
Suggested citation: Holquist, S. E., Reyes, O., Scott, A., & Lewis Wallace, Q. (2025). A comprehensive library of community-engaged research resources. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/2826k8505y